Comment by famousactress | Hacker News Reader

Comment by famousactress | Hacker News Reader

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From Airbnb's comment: and have confirmed with the SFPD that they have a female suspect in custody that they are investigating for vandalism and theft

Sorry.. Color me jaded, but why the mention that the suspect is female? PR maneuvering to plant the suggestion that this wasn't all that big a deal, cause after all.. it was a girl?

Just saying. I don't get it.

[Edit: Downvotes certainly welcome, but I'm assuming downvoters are the ones who might have an answer to what was very much a real question.. I'd really like to know, please. Why include the gender of the suspect? Why include any details in a tiny blurb where the only relevant point I can see is that someone was arrested, and why is the gender more important than the person's age, height, race, or say... criminal record or charges?]

Because EJ's 2nd post cast doubt on the currency and accuracy of AirBnb's original statement about a suspect, it's only natural that they add more (but not all) details. That's a way to signal that they are in fact talking about a specific, current, still-in-custody suspect.

Kudos to AllThingsD for getting an actual police statement, with more details and more hints methamphetamine abuse was involved.

As far as choosing gender as the extra detail to mention? Some might find that detail comforting, as it could indicate less risk of further victim harassment, while others will find it offensive. AirBnb is in a no-win situation at this point; all possible choices will cause some subset of the commentariat lynch mob to raise objections with tone or substance.

Spend some time watching Cops and you'll learn that mentioning (often arbitrary) demographics with suspect arrest is common. They likely just wrote what sfpd told them on one occasion and your blowing up into a conspiracy is your personal problem, not airbnb's.

It's a public arrest. It's a public record.

Since when has the gender of an arrestee not been made public? Often times we make these records public as a way to protect the individual who has been taken into custody by the government.

It is 50% of the population. The rest may be more specific, if it sways one way. Just how I read it...

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